Ford And DHL Group To Work Together To Create Electric Delivery Vans

With the rising global emphasis on ‘going green’ taking root, businesses everywhere are trying to find ways to make money out of energy efficiency. One aspect of the green revolution was the advent of electric vehicles, which are seen by someas the future of automotive travel.

One of the world’s largest courier companies, the German Deutsche Post DHL Group, has recently partnered up with one of the world’s largest automotive companies, the American Ford Motor Company, in order to work on new electric delivery van models that is slated to go into service on the roads of Germany by the end of the year.

The model set for development, the StreetScooter Work XL, is built upon the chassis of a Ford Transit, modified with an electric drive-train. For 2017, 150 pre-production models are set to enter production. If the plan’s schedule hold, DHL and Ford should be seeing 2,500 electric vans as part of the courier company’s vehicle fleet.

The StreetScooteris designed for and intended for urban area use, and is capable of holding at least 200 packages. The van’s design allows for loading from both the back through a tailgate, or through the side via a sliding side door. The cargo bay also features shelves, for convenience’s sake. Each van has a capacity of 22 kilowatts, requiring approximately 3 hours worth of charging.

According to DHL, each van is capable of saving up to 5 metric tons on CO2 emissions every year. If all 2,500 go into service, the savings per year would total around 12,500 metric tons of CO2.

DHL released a statement on the project, with the group’s Vice President, Steven Armstrong, stating that the project couldn’t possibly come sooner. He says that automotive transport plays a vital role in modern daily lives, but they can still be improved and made to be cleaner.

There isn’t much news coverage on them, but besides electric vans for courier companies, there are, in fact, quite a few work electric vehicles out there. Deutsche Post DHL alone has 3,000 electric service vehicles and 10,500 electric bikes as part of its fleet.